This invention relates to plows fitted on vehicles for moving snow, dirt, sand, gravel and other plowable and/or excavatable materials and, more particularly, to a plow for snow and other materials for use with pickup trucks and other vehicles having plow wings which are individually adjustable for extension of the main plow and/or forward angling for positioning the plow to prevent snow or other plowed material from slipping off the ends of the plow.
A wide variety of snow plows for pickup trucks and other utility vehicles are available and in use. These include straight bladed plows of the type shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,250,026, and center-hinged, V-plows of the type shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,074,448 and 4,658,519. Other straight bladed plows have been devised with one or both ends being slidably extendable as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,218,512; U.S. Pat. No. 3,807,064; and Swedish 323,974. Yet other plows have included straight blades with pivotable, non-extendable ends as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,145,825 and 3,477,151. At least one plow is shown in EPO 140,139 having permanently forwardly angled plow ends, which forwardly angled plow ends include slidable extensions wherein the entire plow swings from side to side so as to angle the entire plow left or right.
While each of the above types of prior known plows is useful in one or more situations, the overall flexibility for use of these plows has been limited. For example, for truck mounted plows which must be transported from one site to another for clearing snow or other materials, it is necessary that the plow be short enough to allow transport on public highways which have limited lane width. However, when actually engaged in plowing, it is very helpful to have a greater length for the plow so that larger areas of the parking lot or other site can be cleared of snow more quickly. Yet another problem encountered is when large amounts of snow or other plowable material must be pushed or carried with the plow from one area of a clearing site to another such as the side of a parking lot. Many of the above mentioned plows allow snow or other material being cleared to slip off the ends of the plow thereby requiring additional time and work to completely clear the site.
Some plows have been proposed which provide adjustable plow wings which are extendable and retractable and may be pivoted forwardly from their extended positions to form a generally U-shaped plow to assist in retaining snow or other material on the plow blade as it is pushed along. Such plows are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,899,007 and 5,638,618. Such plows are operable to first extend the plow wings and then pivot the wings forwardly.
Many existing, prior known plows have, therefore, failed to provide a plow with sufficient flexibility to handle the varying needs encountered in plowing using pickup trucks or other vehicles, especially when such vehicles must be driven on public highways, or when excavating or grading using a bulldozer, grader or the like. Such needs include a short enough plow length to allow transportation on public highways, a long enough length for fast, efficient clearing of a job site, and the carrying or pushing of snow, dirt, sand, gravel or the like from one area to another without allowing the material to slip off the plow ends. In addition, plows should be as light in weight as possible while sufficiently strong to withstand the various forces imposed thereon during plowing of various materials, should allow for proper visibility during use as well as when moved to a non-use position on the vehicle, and should allow ease in repair or replacement of those parts subject to high wear during plowing use. All of these results should be accomplished while minimizing the size and space required for the plow in each of its arrangements.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a plow having adjustable wings on its ends which can be adjusted to varying positions to allow transport on public highways, to provide increased plow length for fast, efficient clearing of snow or other material being plowed, and to allow carrying or pushing of plowable material from one area to another without the plowed material slipping off the plow ends. The present plow may be configured in various arrangements to handle each of these situations while minimizing the size and space required by the plow when in position on the vehicle. The present plow also allows adjustment to meet these various situations from a remote position in the cab of the vehicle without external, hands on adjustment.
According to an aspect of the present invention, a plow assembly for vehicles comprises a plow, a support for attaching the plow to the vehicle, a plow wing on one end of the plow, and an actuating device connected to the plow wing and operable to move the plow wing between an aligned position and a forwardly angled position and to move the plow wing between a retracted position and an extended position. The plow includes opposite ends, a front material engaging surface, and a rear surface opposite the front surface. The plow wing has an inner end and an outer end, a front material engaging surface, and a rear surface opposite the front surface. The plow wing is mounted for sliding movement along the plow between a retracted position in which the outer end of the wing is adjacent the end of the plow, and an extended position in which the outer wing is spaced outwardly from the retracted position and the end of the plow. The plow wing includes a hinge and is pivotally mounted on the hinge for movement between an aligned position in which the front material engaging surface of the plow wing is aligned with the front material engaging surface of the plow, and a forwardly angled position in which the wing front surface extends at an angle to the plow front surface. The actuating device is operable to move the plow wing between the aligned position and the forwardly angled position at least when the plow wing is in the retracted position.
In one form, the actuating device is operable to move the plow wing to the forwardly angled position prior to moving the plow wing from the retracted position to the extended position. The actuating device may comprise a single extendable and retractable actuator, such as a hydraulic cylinder, which is operable to first pivot the plow wing to the forwardly angled position and then to extend the plow wing laterally outwardly from the plow. The plow assembly may include a latch or restraining mechanism which prevents laterally outward movement of the plow wing until after the plow wing has been fully angled forwardly with respect to the plow, in which position the restraining mechanism disengages and allows extension of the plow wing in response to further extension of the actuator.
Preferably, a second plow wing is similarly positioned and operable at the opposite end of the plow. Optionally, the plow wings are operable by a separate pair of actuating devices, whereby one of the actuating devices of each pair is operable to extend and retract a respective one of the plow wings, while the other of the actuating devices of each pair is operable to pivot the respective plow wing between the aligned and forwardly angled positions.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a plow assembly for vehicles comprises a plow, a support for attaching the plow to the vehicle, first and second plow wings, and at least one first actuator operable to move the first plow wing and at least one second actuator operable to move the second plow wing. Each of the plow wings preferably has a cross sectional contour corresponding to the plow. The first wing is mounted for sliding movement along the front surface of the plow at one end, while the second wing is mounted for sliding movement along the front surface of the plow at the other end. Each of the wings are movable between the retracted position in which the outer end of the wing is adjacent to its respective end of the plow, and an extended position in which the outer wing and is spaced outwardly from the retracted position and its respective end of the plow. Each of the plow wings also includes a hinge and is pivotally mounted on the respective hinge for movement between an aligned position in which the front surface of the plow wing is aligned with the front surface of the plow, and a forwardly angled position in which the front surface of the plow wing extends at an angle to the plow front surface. Each of the plow wings is operable independently of the other plow wing, such that the plow wings are independently movable between the respective retracted, extended, aligned and forwardly angled positions. The plow wings form a generally U-shape with the plow when both plow wings are in their forwardly angled positions to facilitate pushing material being plowed without such materials slipping off the plow ends. The actuators are operable to move the respective plow wings between the aligned position and the forwardly angled position irrespective of a degree of extension of the respective plow wing from the plow.
Preferably, the plow assembly includes first and second slides mounted to the plow. The first plow wing and first hinge are mounted on and movable with the first slide, while the second plow wing and second hinge are mounted on and movable with the second slide. Preferably, each slide is telescopically mounted within a housing on the rear surface of the plow. The plow includes first and second openings therethrough, such that the hinges of the plow wings extend through the respective openings to support the respective plow wing for sliding movement along the front surface of the plow.
In one form, the material engaging surface of the plow includes a first section formed of metal and a second section formed of polymeric material, such that the second section has a weight less than the first section. Preferably, the first metal section extends from the ground engaging edge to an intermediate position spaced above the ground engaging edge. The plow wing is mounted for sliding movement along the first section. The second polymeric section extends from the intermediate position to the top of the plow.
Preferably, the plow assembly includes a support frame for attaching the plow to the vehicle. The plow is pivotally mounted on the support frame for movement about a first generally vertical pivot axis from a centered position extending generally transverse to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, to a series of angled positions in which the plow is angled to the left or right of the center position.
Optionally, each of the first and second actuators includes a pair of actuators, whereby one of the actuators of each pair is operable to move the respective plow wing between the extended and retracted positions, while the other one of the actuators of each pair is operable to pivot the plow wing between the aligned position and the forwardly angled position. Preferably, each actuator of the two pairs of actuators is operable independently of one another, such that each wing may be independently extended, retracted, aligned, and/or forwardly angled with respect to the plow.
Accordingly, the present plow assembly provides numerous advantages over prior known plows. The present plow has sufficient flexibility to handle varying needs including being short enough in length when not extended to allow transport on public highways without projecting into adjacent lanes. Either one or both the ends of the plow may be angled forwardly for highly efficient carrying and/or pushing of plowed material from one location in the area being plowed to another without the plowed material slipping off the plow ends. The angled ends may be extended to a sufficient length to allow fast, efficient clearing of snow or other material being plowed from a large area. The plow wings may be angled forwardly from a retracted position of the wings, such that the plow may form a generally U-shaped plow, without first having to extend the plow wings laterally outwardly from the main plow. All of these functions are accomplished in the present plow with a minimal size and space due to its compact and efficient construction. The plow may be centered for pushing or carrying of snow or other plowed material, or angled to one side or the other for moving snow or other material to the side of the vehicle supporting the plow. One or both plow wings at the ends of the plow may be pivoted forwardly and/or may be extended independently or together, while the entire plow may be centered or angled to one side or the other with one or both of the plow wings extended or pivoted forwardly. In either case, the plow wings at either end of the main plow are independently movable to a forwardly angled position and/or extendable via remote control from the cab of the vehicle by means of hydraulic fluid cylinders mounted along the back of the plow. Either a single fluid cylinder or a pair of fluid cylinders may be mounted to move each plow wing. When a pair of fluid cylinders is used for each wing, any latch or spring mechanism for preventing or restraining laterally outward movement of the wing to its extended position is eliminated since one fluid cylinder pivots the plow between extended and forwardly angled positions and operates to lock the plow wing in whatever pivotal position it is found, while the other cylinder extends and retracts the plow wing relative to the plow blade, irrespective of the angle at which the wing is pivoted.
In addition, both the main plow and the extendable wings pivot forwardly on a horizontal axis in the event an obstacle is encountered during plowing. Further, when the plow wings are extended, if the vehicle is moved in reverse and a quantity of snow or other material being plowed engages the rear surface of either plow wing, either a latch or spring mechanism or a fluid cylinder maintains the plow wing in alignment with the plow blade and prevents movement to the forwardly angled position until desired. In addition, the extendable, adjustable plow of the present invention has been designed in a highly compact, lightweight manner allowing use on a wide variety of pickup trucks, tractors and other vehicles as well, including bulldozers, graders, or other excavation or construction vehicles. The plow may be supported at the front of a vehicle via the preferred support frame or by means such as vertical supports positioned behind the plow assembly such as in a road grader. In addition, the plow assembly of the present invention is rugged, strong and highly durable to allow use in harsh weather or environmental conditions over an extended period of time.